Monday, May 08, 2006

My Knitting is Full of Holes

Meet Glencora

The Glencora Baby Shawl is finished. There was a question in the comments awhile back about what exactly a "baby shawl" is. Good question. I've been calling this a baby shawl because that is the name given in Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, whence comes the basic pattern. I've decided that for me, a baby shawl is a baby blanket you'd rather not see dragged around on the floor by the intended recipient.

Comments: Knitting this was more fun than playing Twister with a room full of frisky Marines. (Almost.) When you begin the center on dpns, work over a table unless you wish to flirt with insanity. Now that the shawl's finished, it'll be wrapped up and laid away to await a baby, as yet unborn, who might need it.

Squaresville

One of my favorite things about the whole knitting/spinning game is that you can be simultaneously productive and peaceful. On Saturday I installed myself at my favorite coffee shop, listened to three hour-long Zen lessons and knit like a demon on swatches for Susan's State of Maine lace stole.

It don't get much better than that. I'm not sure I believe in auras, but if I have one I'm sure it turned blue. Or pink. Or green. Or whatever color is the opposite of "murderous rage."

The design for the stole has changed considerably since my first sketch many months ago. I've tried about two dozen stitch patterns, and it looks like six or so will show up in the final object. A few details have been firmly settled. It's going to be made from Zephyr, it's going to be pale gray (the colorway is "Steel"), and I'm knitting it on a 24" US size zero circular.

Most of the lace swatches are done now, so the charting has begun. I'm doing it the old-fashioned way, since at present I haven't found a Mac-friendly charting program that looks inviting. Anyhow, I'm supposed to be trying to live a mindful life. Nothing makes you mindful like the prospect of erasing and re-drawing the contents of 400 itsy-bitsy squares if you don't pay attention.

More Buddha for Your Buck

C and I went out for a stroll this weekend and wound up at Architectural Revolution, a dashed amusing shop in our neighborhood that sells all sorts of goodies from Asia, South America, and the Middle East. I was looking for a small statue of Buddha, and as our local Buddhas Galore franchise has been replaced by a Baby Gap this seemed the best place to go.

"I'm having nothing to do with this," I said, heading for the back room. I found C standing in front of a display of cat carvings from somewhere in Mexico.

"Was there blood?" he asked.

"Not yet," I said. "Now help me pick out a symbol of enlightenment before my aneurysm kicks in."

The selection was extensive, ranging from Buddhas about a half-inch high in brass to a bronze Thai Mega-Buddha roughly as tall as my mother (and with her signature penetrating gaze). There were clay Buddhas, and metal Buddhas. Fat Buddhas, skinny Buddhas. Buddhas reclining, sitting, and standing. Buddhas that lit up. Buddhas in really cute hats with slimming, vertical lines.

"How about this one?" asked C.

It was Indonesian, about ten inches high, wooden, carved, and painted in very cheerful greens and yellows. The attitude was meditation. The open eyes were intense but the overall expression was serene.

"He's kinda cute," I said. "And he'd match the rug."

"He's fifty percent off," said C.

"Wrap it up and charge it," I said.

We went back to the front room, to find Dolores and the saleswoman lying on a pile of velvet cushions and giggling madly. There was a dense cloud of smoke over the two of them that did not smell like patchouli.

"And so there I am in Morocco," Dolores was saying, "sitting in a hamam with Marlo Thomas and this Ethiopian hermaphrodite, and Marlo suddenly drops her towel and says–"

"Ahem," I said.

"Oh, hi," said the saleswoman, sitting up. "Hey. Did you find, you know, what you were looking for?"

"Maybe he should try Hare Krishna," said Dolores. And the two of them collapsed in another fit of giggles.

"Your life coach is awesome," said the saleswoman. "I mean, wow, she has lived."

"Oh hush you," said Dolores, batting her eyelashes.

"No, I am so serious," the saleswoman continued. She looked up at me, "I mean, just being around her makes me want to totally reconsider my living situtation. You know what I mean?"

"Intimately," I said.

"Listen, you guys go ahead home," said Dolores. "Lupe here goes on lunch in a couple minutes and she's going to introduce me to this guy around the corner who does wicked tattoos. I'm thinking getting a little something cute inked on my tuchus. Maybe a rosebud. Or a butterfly."

"How about a warning label?"

Whereupon they both started giggling again.

We were about halfway back to my apartment when C turned to me and said, "Remember when you decided not to get a cat because it would just be too much trouble?"

83 comments:

o. my. dog. you blow me away. i know for a fact you were out late last night. when do you have time for such creativity? a hamam with marlo thomas and an ethiopian hermophrodite...i think i wet myself a little.

Re: mindfullness. Having ripped rounds of lace with well over 1200 stitches, I can assure you that erasing 400 little squares is a mindless walk in the park. Wait'll you start the WRS. (You've tried Stitchpainter, from Cochenille, I expect?)

I look forward to meeting the Buddha, even if she is an imaginary sheep.

Hideous and Kinky Dolores.......I'm thinking about all my afghan dresses and the gallons of Patchouli..love it but Frankincense is better.Dolores I think men of your species like Bulls might have had rings forced into their noses to be led..don't do it girl like foot-binding and Jimmy Chou shoes if you follow.

Aristotle called it "quiet industry". Or maybe it was Plato. Some dead guy. I'm going with Aristotle, though. It was Plato who called knitting a "knack" rather than an art, so we don't like him, on general principle.

love the shawl--it is amazing how quickly you have come to embrace lacework=and to think-now you will start on size 0 needles, with your next knitting adventure!! have you ever read the Tao de Ching? the translation by stephen mitchell is really beautiful--Bess

If you have played Twister with a roomful of frisky Marines, we'd like a description of that too. And as long as your taking pictures...Nice baby shawl, too. The colors are calming, unlike most babies.

And what lovely holes they are, m'dere! Keep it away from the urping ones; drape it over a table instead. Or your altar if and when you get one. See if you can borrow the Princess Shawl pattern from Ted so you can get your edging started. Or the Spider Queen. Hey, mindful knitting means ultimate concentration!

You are one funny guy Franklin. A cohort of yours, Guido Stein, recommended I mention you in an article I am writing on men who knit for the Aussie magazine I write and edit. It's called GET CREATIVE. We do a US version too. I have just had a look at some of your posts. Too funny. I love Dolores and her purple suitcase. Keep it up - all of it.

If you put Dolores on a blow-up bed ..the ciggie burns will have it flat in no time ,then somehow I can see you'll be sleeping on it while she snuggles under your finest duck-down .She can sleep on the couch but check the smoke alarm .

The shawl is gorgeous. Thank you so much for the definition. So many times have I read that term and wondered. I love to knit shawls, and I like to have something around for those unknown future babies; this fits the bill.

And damn fine holes they are! As others have posted, instructions, via Marilyn a/k/a The Knitting Curmudgeon, are available for charting knitting patterns in Excel. It's much easier than erasing real paper - the screen doesn't wear through. Maybe Dolores would like to visit NYC sometime? I think she'd fit right in with my family.

Easy to use charting software for the mac will be available soon! I wrote Knit Visualizer for Windows first (since that's what I had) and am porting it so it does all the mac-friendly things (who said putting the menu bar on top of the workspace was a good idea?). Check it out at http://www.knitfoundry.com/software.html

There's a free demo, and you can also download the manual to see what you can do with it.

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